Argos in Macedonia, where the citizens spoke Macedonian,
because it was their mother tongue. It is unremarkable that some
may have spoken Greek as a second language, since it was the
language of their neighbors. We do not find citizens living in the
border areas of neighboring countries speaking each others‟
languages unusual today and there is no reason to find it unusual
then. In the same way that Macedonians spoke Greek, we find
that some Greeks from the bordering areas accepted certain
features from the Macedonian language into their language. (Athenaos in Deipnosophists III and Plato in Cratylus mention this
process).
Statements that classify the Macedonian kings as “Greeks,”
because some placed images of Heracles on their coins do not
merit serious consideration. Heracles was a mythological figure
and many Balkan nations worshiped him both then and later. The
appearance of his image on Macedonian coins was more likely for
religious and cultural reasons and not because of any ethnic
affinity. A similar argument can be made regarding the worship
today of Buddha, who was born an Indian. The worship of Buddha
does not mean that all Buddhists should be considered “ethnic
Indians”.
Indeed, Macedonia is not alone in placing Heracles‟ likeness
on its coins; other nations have done the same. For example, in
the Roman Empire there are coins that bear Heracles‟ image.
Some are: ASI, coined in the Ethrurian city of Populonia (third
century BC); the coins of Maximinius II, from Caracala; or those of
Marcelinius and other Roman emperors. By the signatories‟ logic,
one might very well ask whether the Romans were also Greek,
since they also emblazoned their coins with the image of the
“Greek hero,” Heracles? Similarly, coins with the head of Heracles
can also be found in Thrace. Again, the question arises, were the
Thracians also “Greek”? Coins with Heracles‟ image were also
made in Syria. Even Napoleon I, in honor of the First Consulate
(1799 - 1804) commissioned coins with Heracles‟ image. In 1970 a